characters

I just read a great article on some of the most difficult and challenging aspects of learning Mandarin Chinese. The article is written in a sort of humorous and chatty tone, and brings up some of the most frustrating things Chinese learners face when they really get down to the nitty gritty details of learning.

From Article

Not all foreign languages are equally difficult for any learner. It depends on which language you're coming from. A French person can usually learn Italian faster than an American, and an average American could probably master German a lot faster than an average Japanese, and so on. So part of what I'm contending is that Chinese is hard compared to ... well, compared to almost any other language you might care to tackle. What I mean is that Chinese is not only hard for us (English speakers), but it's also hard in absolute terms. Which means that Chinese is also hard for them, for Chinese people.

Read the article on Pinyin.info

Came across a blog that documents the misuse of Chinese and Japanese characters in Western culture.

Most of the entries are images of tattoos that Westerners have gotten which portray Chinese or Japanese characters. The characters in these tattoos are somehow misused, and the result is often quite entertaining.

There is definitely something to be learned there!

Check it out.

Came across an excellent tool for studying, using and learning Japanese Kanji radicals and more.

From the site:

Translate Words in Japanese Text
Search for Words in the Dictionary
Find Kanji in the Database
Find Kanji (MultiRadical Method)
Handwritten Interface
Select Dictionary File
View Documentation
Graphic Interface
Keitai JE
Keitai EJ
Keitai Text Translation

Visit this online tool.